Coverage of national and international news, including breaking stories. Bookminder, executive director for citizens for responsibilities and ethics. And Midwin Charles is an attorney. President trump reacted to cohens plea this morning on twitter where he writes if anyone is looking for a good lawyer, i would strongly suggest you that dont retain the services of Michael Cohen. Okay. Lets remind our audience, the president is downplaying this. Being funny, almost cute. Theres nothing cute about it. The president of the United States is the chief Law Enforcement officer. That is what he is. And yesterday, he has been accused as a coconspirator of a federal crime, maybe multiple. So, please, let that sit in. Midwin what is your take here . My take is this is consistent with donald trump. We have seen him react this way to a varietydifferent thinks
even when accused of Sexual Assault by women. Now, what is shocking that i think all of us need to recognize on august 21st, 2018, the Trump Presidency changed forever. His longtime attorney, his quote unquote fixer. The guy who said he would take a bullet for him. A bullet. At this point, we can all agree he is not a fixer because he bungled. You know what, eight is enough. He pled guilty to eight different counts. Manafort was found guilty of eight counts. Apparently, eight is the magic number here. But he walked into Court Yesterday and told a federal judge that the president of the United States coordinated with him and directed that he make a payment to two women in violation of Campaign Finance laws. He implicated the president in a federal crime. And a felony. The president of the United States, right now, is an unindicted coconspirator. And i think that that changes
the game from hence forth, for this presidency. This presidency is no longer going to be the same. You cannot walk away from the fact that cohen said this under oath during a process known as allocution. Where the judge reads the charges are you knowingly free on this guilty plea, has anyone influenced, are you under the influence of drugs . No, no, no, i did them for the purpose of influencing the election. Its just stunning, its astonishing and its historic. Without a doubt, glenn, when i think of the president s response, hes downplaying it. Just like hes done over and over and over. But this time, is it differenty now that President Trump has been implicated in a federal crime, can this man be indicted . Yeah, stephanie, the fact
that the president would choose to respond with irreverence in that tweet is further evidence that, you know, the man is not fit to serve. Except, glenn, it works with his base. When President Trump downplays it and jokes about it, his base is like, see, not a big deal. But is it a big deal, in terms of legal jeopardy in the eyes of the law . It is a big deal on the legal front. And heres why, Michael Cohen, in his sworn statement to a federal judge said in counts seven and eight of the criminal information. I conspired this is what he said in substance i conspired with the president of the United States to commit crimes that will help the president , or the then candidate, get elected. And, you know, you cant ignore the eerie similarity of the candidate committing crimes to help him get elected, as we see in counts seven and eight. And what bob mueller is investigating. Potentially committing crimes by
effectiveness of Special Counsel muellers investigation, theyve now added to their dozens of indictments and pleas with eight serious conviction accounts. You have Michael Cohen who is the president s longtime trusted adviser, whatever he may say about him this morning, directly implicating the president in not just wrongdoing, but crime, which nobody has done previously. And you also have this phenomenon of the president radio who said he was going to bring on the best people, being literally surrounded by people who have been charged with, pleated guilty to or found guilty of is corruption. Hes surrounded himself with criminals. Glenn, ive got to ask you, can a president be impeached on crimes that were committed before he took office . Yes. Particularly, if they are crimes that were designed to give him an unfair, unlawful advantage in the campaign. And that i mean, i think its
impossible to determine whether his illegal conduct, as has now been set out in a court of law, resulted in him winning votes. Resulted in him winning the election. I do think that these could constitute high crimes and misdemeanors. But, stephanie, i really do believe, when bob mueller shares with, whether in a report to congress or in future indictments, shares with the American Public his findings with respect to trump and colluding with russia, i think those crimes will be so much higher than the crimes we saw play out yesterday in federal court. Quickly, Alan Dershowitz kind of dismissed it saying Campaign Finance violations, everybody does it. Well, that is certainly not true. There are certainly rules that people try to get around, and we spent a lot of time trying to
bring integrity to the Campaign Finance system. But knowingly violating laws to try to benefit a campaign. Get somebody elected, that has that has brought down the careers of politicians who have done it before. It is a serious offense. It should not be dismissed. And you know, we should remember that president nixons Watergate Scandal was all about effecting a campaign and getting him reelected. So to say that actions by Somebody Running for president are not relevant to this kind of inquiries is ignoring past historical scandals as well. And im pretty sure mr. Dirkowitz knows that. Heres what i didnt get, midwin. Michael cohen has no Cooperation Agreement in this plea. What does that mean, no cooperation . Very interesting it tells me that he wants his seventh
district or this, basically, saga, to be over. He wanted to cut his losses and admit what he did. His attorney has pretty much said, lanny davis, that he now has a breath of fresh air. The stress has now been lifted from his shoulders. But that doesnt mean that hes not going to cooperate with mueller. In fact, lanny davis has said on air, that hes more than willing, that his client is more than willing to talk to mueller, and perhaps, willing to do so to reduce his sentence. Remember, he hasnt been sentenced yet. Thats something that we can look forward to. I as want to share that we have lanny davis said about a potential pardon . Not only is he not hoping for, he would not accept a pardon, he considers a pardon from somebody who has act ed as president would not accept. Suddenly, Michael Cohen would never accept a pardon. This is a guy who was a proud fixer. We heard him on tape threatening saying he was going to gut him like a fish. I dont believe its in his selfinterest to accept a pardon. Why . Because if he has exposure for violating state laws, as well as federal laws which he almost certainly does, anytime you commit federal tax fraud, guess what, youve also committed state tax fraud. And the president , even if he were to issue a pardon cant extinguish all of his criminal liability. So the only game in time is cooperation. Yes, this whereas a nonCooperation Agreement, but what will we havent heard about is that prosecutor entering into superseding Cooperation Agreements all the time. This is the first time for Michael Cohen. We got to turn to the Paul Manafort trial. Was it the first win for the mueller team in the courtroom
noah . It absolutely was. Eight convictions on serious Felony Counts is an incredible major victory and really should put to rest a lot of the criticism of muellers team, particularly given that this was in a trial, with a judge who seemed to be, or appeared to be, at times, openly hostile to the prosecution. These were difficult and sophisticated charges that the prosecution was trying to prove. Now, Paul Manafort is looking potentially at prison for the rest of his life. So, this is a major win for Special Counsel muellers team. And shows not only can they indict people. Not only can they get people to plead. But theyve got the goods to win at trial, even under potentially really difficult circumstances. My goodness. Weve got a lot to get to today. Im glad i came back for this. Thank you, all. Stick around, please. Coming up, the conservative
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simple, easy, awesome. In many cultures, young men would stay with their families until their 40s. Fake news and the russian witch hunt. We got a whole big combination. Where is the collusion . You know, theyre still looking for collusion . Where is the collusion . Find some collusion. We want to find the collusion. That, of course, was President Trump last night defiantly saying theres no evidence of collusion. But the guilty pleas and charges stemming from muellers investigation are stunning. The president did his very best at a rally in West Virginia last night to deflect from the guilty verdict and plea deal involving Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen which were announced just a few hours before the president s speech. And trump breaking out his Greatest Hits breaking out everything from the nfl to kicking it off with the familiar chants. Youll have to go. Unlike the nfl, you always honor and cherish our Great American flag. We are putting our great coal miners back to work. We love clean, beautiful West Virginia coal. We love it. Oh, goodness. President trump made no mention
of manafort or cohen during that speech that lasted more than an hour. I want to bring in Kristen Welker at the white house. Kristen, as all of this was unfolding the president was on Air Force One. And you know, if you remember, when First Lady Melania Trump watched cnn, the president banned that and also watched fox news. So its unclear what information he got on Air Force One. Take us inside the white house, because you know everyone there is watching every minute of this. Every single minute of this, steph. As you rightfully point out, the president and his staff, they did have fox news on during that ride to West Virginia yesterday, so, they were watching that remarkable split screen. Michael cohen pleading guilty at the same time a jury found Paul Manafort guilty on eight separate counts. And President Trump landed and said he felt bad for them both. But really put the focus on paul
manafort for his remarks on the ground. I think thats significant, he talked about the fact he feels bad for Paul Manafort. And it raises questions for what are the potential next steps. Michael cohen, his attorney, as you were just discovering, he wouldnt accept a pardon. You were rightfully skeptical of that. But asked if he would pardon Paul Manafort, the president said im not given any thought to that. But is that on the table . Thats certainly something to dig into. And i would point out one other thing, steph. Remember where we started the day yesterday. We were analyzing this remarkable remark that President Trump made to reuters saying i could run it, in relations to the Special Counsel investigation. That comment has put shock waves through a number of members of congress. Theyre concerned that could be an indication that the president is aiming to potentially take some action against the Special Counsel, trying to defang the
Special Counsel, really turning some of the heated rhetoric into action, steph. Thats the Big Question Mark as we continue to follow this story line. Just think of that split screen for a moment. The president of the United States who says i could run it now accused of a coconspirator of a crime. And another on fox news, theyre likely talks about the mtv music awards. Joining me, a reporter for the New York Times. And evan siegfried. And a democratic candidate for new York Attorney general. And my friend an oped columnist for the New York Times. Welcome to you all. Jeremy, to you first, jonathan allen, my colleague here, argues theres not been a darker moment for the president. Or the presidency, since Richard Nixon resigned on the verge of impeachment in 1974. Those are some heavy words. Would you agree . Because last i checked, Richard NixonWasnt Holding a rally like that, and there President Trump was at a rally with ardent supporters who think that yesterday was nonsense. Thats the key difference, stephanie, how the electorate processes all of this news, if theyre processing it really at all. I think a lot of people, especially now have been just so inundated that they cant really differentiate one scandal from another. That said, with the echoes of watergate here and the unindicted coconspirator, this is going to focus to be the shift going into the midterms. And republicans are going to be knocked back on their heels. And even in graver danger of losing the house and the senate. Not just because of President Trumps legal troubles, but im hearing a lot of concern that all of the ethical issues
clouding Congressional Republicans right now. You have two sitting members of Congress Republicans who are under indictment. You have this whiff of corruption around the presidency. Democrats are already exploiting this in their television ads. Lets remember, the 2006 elections which washed republicans out of power, also talks about corruption. Everyone attributed the iraq war and voter fatigue over george w. Bush. You have the abramoff and Scooter Libby and the house pages and explicit messages sent. And this just all came crushing down on the Republican Party. And i think that youre looking at a situation that is, if not as serious, even more serious than that. All right, well then, thats not a bhwhiff, thats a stink. President trump just tweeted again. I feel very badly for Paul Manafort and his wonderful family. Justice took a 12yearold tax case among other things applied tremendous pressure on him. He refused to break make up stories in order to get a deal. Such respect for a brave man. What do you think . Look, the president hired as his chief campaign adviser, a man who would have been susceptible to russian blackm l blackmail, had he not been exposed by the New York Times in july or august of 2016. Thats what people ought to understand about the danger that manafort posed. Not that he was just in office for with the campaign a few months or that these charges go way back. It means had he remained influential in the Trump Campaign you would have had a man possibly in high position of the administration who would
have been liable to a russian operation. What i find really striking, though, is the refusal to come to grips with the really big news of the day which is what happened with Michael Cohen. Because this is not about collusion. This is not about Robert Mueller. This is about the way the president what seems to be an unindicted coconspirator in criminal activity. Felonious violation of campaign laws. Which seems to be happening whether or not the president Fires Mueller or not. To bretts point this is a preamble, trump is a trump. I want to share how other republicans have weighed, senators jon cornyn, Lindsey Graham about the conviction of Paul Manafort and the possibility of a pardon . Would you have a problem if the president were to pardon manafort . To what . To pardon Paul Manafort. Thats above my pay grade. Thats the president s choice. But i think id like to see the case take its course. I cant think what mr. Manafort has done to deserve a pardon. He actually hasnt gone to jail. You have to show that you learned your lesson. Ben sasse put out a statement, Paul Manafort is the former member of the d. C. Swamp. And Michael Cohen is the bottom thank version of the same. Neither one of these felons should be anywhere near the presidency. I couldnt agree more. That them being above senator cornyn pay grade but its not going to be above mine if im fortunate to be the next Attorney General of the state of new york. What do you mean . Because the Attorney General of the state of new york that office is second to only Robert Mueller as holding the president accountable. He resides in new york. Most of his assets are in new york. And now we know that his criminal associates of which Michael Cohen is one also call new york home. And regardless of what the president may do in terms of potentially Pardoning Manafort or anyone else. As Attorney General, i would do my utmost and aggressively prosecute can that the president only has the power to pardon for convictions of federal crimes, he has no authority whatsoever to pardon for convictions of state crimes. Now, state law in new york needs to be strengthened. And i implore Governor Cuomo to call the legislature back in right away to strengthen state law but right now, the Attorney General for the state of new york can prosecute any person she chooses who has violated state law. It makes it unnecessarily
challenging to do so but its not impossible. I hope on january 1, i without question will hold any person who has violated state law accountable, regardless if theyve received a pardon from the president of the United States. Heavens, mr. Manafort and mr. Cornehen, are you watching that . First of all, you missed a step which is the Southern District of new york. You cant get him on federal crimes as the state Attorney General. But my take is this is a really, really sad situation. For whom . For the country. The president of the United States is an unindicted coconspirator on two counts of conspiracy to commit election fraud. Did you notice how subdued he was . I have never seen donald trump at a rally looking so morous. Those people in the audience who have just watched fox news, theyre going to support the president no matter what. Yes, so, thats true. But the president himself, i think hes starting to grapple with whats going on. He seemed to be down. He knew Michael Cohen who is on the inside of inside of his inner circle for years has now flipped on him. He is not going to be able to deal with this. Hes going to be backed into the corner. And thats why you see the preamble that brett talked about. Weve got Bob Woodwards book fear, imagine how he reacts to that. Bob woodward is credible, unlike omarosa. And the base using the tragedy of Mollie Tibbetts and what happened to her. Its horrific. But republicans are ignoring whats happening and theyre not holding him accountable. Jon cornyn saying its above his pay grade, no, his pay grade is to be checks and balance on the executive. Youve been saying its sad for a year and a half. Jeremy peters, saying its sad, youre down there on the hill, do you actually think youre going to get any . Thus far, we havent . Not yet, no, absolutely not. Steve bannon said, this is a moment, we all need to check ourselves and get in line. Meaning get in line behind trump. Right, and thats representative of a Hardcore Element of the Republican Party here and definitely a large percentage of the members of a republican congress, to be clear. But i do think if youre looking just at Michael Cohen, this is not a clean hit. I mean, lets not forget, Michael Cohen is a guy who has repeatedly lied on the president s behalf. Uhhuh. And he has bragged about
that. He has said, actually, that he doesnt know of any instances that the president has lied. Hes also the way that said theres no way for you to rape your spouse when there were these questions that ivana trump raised about an incident involving her husband when they were married. So, Michael Cohen is not a credible person. And republicans will do everything they can to remind people of that to discredit him and his allegations. And thats what youre hearing right now. Not just from republican lawmakers. But also in the conservative media that shaped so much of the public opinion. And i think that this is a case where for now at least, people do write off allegations around Michael Cohen. Now, where that goes from here, what else has evan pointed out that could happen, the Government Shutdown that we could be fighting over in a few weeks it will contribute to even more perceptions of chaos. You just dont know where this is going. Yes, and Paul Manafort and conservative media went after rick gates as a liar and adulterer. But a jury found Paul Manafort guilty on eight charges. I want to bring a moderator on pbs. You tweeted you had breakfast with a, quote, Government Trump player. What does that mean . It means people around the president , his longtime associates, advisers and friends are keeping a close watch on him right now. And one of them told me this morning, they feel this moment, because of how everything happened yesterday, it almost feels like when the Special Counsel was appointed following the firing of jim comey in 2017 at the fbi, the president at that point was so taken aback by the quick turn of events he began to unleash expletives. Heres why i dont believe that. Friday night, one of trumps oldest friends out in new york throws a fundraiser for the president. Who are the attendees, not trumps base, forgotten americans, very smart, welleducated people who are toasting the president and his tax cuts. So, heres why i dont believe that. Well, the president youre getting at an important point, stephanie, and thats the president believes that hes understand siege, and no one understands his own success. So, he feels the doublebarrel stories of manafort and Michael Cohen dont really get at the reality of his presidency. And hes repeating it at fundraisers and to aides on Air Force One as he flies. But that doesnt mean that this isnt a president who watches fox news constantly. I litigated in federal
courts, from Western District of new york to Southern District of new york. I did not say id be Prosecuting For Federal Crimes what i said as Attorney General, that i have the power on january 1, to prosecute any person, pardon or not, for violations of state law. Violations of state law. I didnt miss a beat. And i just wanted to correct the record for your viewers, stephanie. One thing thats important, the president can in Extremeis Fire you must skill it at scrabble. Felonious, extremis. This is why this is important, this is a fundamental change in the momentum of the story. People understand paying hush money to a former playboy model and porn actress just
reeks ahead of an election that was decided on 40,000 votes. Someone should remind Lindsey Graham and every other republican officeholder in congress in 1998 mcconnell is hard to get to right now. I think its consistent on conservatives and republicans to support the same for President Trump now, now given that Campaign Finance violations are much graver and felonious. If were looking for consisted attention, were talking about politics. I know, i know. Nonetheless, congress has an obligation, thats why democrats should be put in office in november. Theres one more thing playing out, especially in midterms youre seeing voters, poll after poll, wants congress to be a hard check on the president. In swing districts, only a
quarte quarter of those voters want the congress to be subservant. Were going to go through the growing list of guilty pleas that Special Counsel mueller has secured. And what it means for President Trump. It felt like my heart was skipping beats. They said i had afib. Whats afib . I knew that meant i was at a greater risk of stroke. I needed answers. My doctor and i chose xarelto® to help keep me protected from a stroke. Oncedaily xarelto®, a latestgeneration Blood Thinner significantly lowers the risk of stroke in people with afib not caused by a heart valve problem. Warfarin interferes with at least 6 of your bodys natural bloodclotting factors. Xarelto® is selective, targeting just one critical factor. For afib patients well managed on warfarin, there is limited information on how xarelto® compares in reducing the risk of stroke. Dont stop taking xarelto® without talking to your doctor, as this may increase your risk of stroke. While taking, you may bruise more easily, or take longer for bleeding to stop. Xarelto® can cause serious, and in rare cases, fatal bleeding. It may increase your risk of bleeding if you take certain medicines. Get help right away for unexpected bleeding or unusual bruising. Do not take xarelto® if you have an Artificial Heart Valve or abnormal bleeding. Before starting, tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures and any kidney or liver problems. Learn all you can to help protect yourself from a stroke. Talk to your doctor about xarelto®. It was always our singular focus,
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found themselves stamped with guilty. Paul manafort eight counts of crimes, and Michael Cohen also pleading guilty. All of this doesnt even get to the 28 people and three separate russian entities that are facing charges related to the mueller investigation. Thats a lot. I want to bring in my legal panel. Midwin charles, an attorney for the law firm Midwin Charles and associates. Glenn kirschner, a former federal prosecutor. Glenn, the president continues to tweet. A large number of counts, ten could not even be decided in the Paul Manafort case. Witch hunt. Does the president have a point here. Youve got ten counts that manafort hasnt been found guilty of. No, he doesnt have a point, stephanie. Listen, particularly in white
collar cases there are a lot of technicalities. Its not unusual for the jury to split the baby and return guilty on some. They didnt find Paul Manafort not guilty of anything. They merely hung. That may be enough to commit or as a holdout. We dont know. Paul manafort will be sentenced on those eight Felony Counts. And the other ten counts that information can be used as relevant content to hanenhance an one more thing but go ahead. Those ten hung jury verdicts they could be retried. And i suspect hes going to be on the Receiving End of the hat trick. Three indictments once bob mueller returns a conspiracy indictment. But, glenn, what does this tell you about our legal system, people who looked at the case said this is the most egregious,
open and shut case of fraud. And yet, if he wasnt tied to the president or millions of dollars spent on this, nobody would have noticed this would have happened. Nobody would have noticed. On some level isnt this a message to fraudsters out there, you know, carry on . Yeah, as a federal prosecutor, ive had people ask me, why is it that there seems to be this unchecked illegality in certain segments of the business community, the real estate community. My answer, stephanie, is, the federal government, believe it or not, has limited resources. And prosecutors have their hands full going after killers and rapists. I mean, the worst of the worst. If we could get around to investigating every illegal Business Deal in new york or elsewhere we would probably have to quadruple the cadre of prosecutors. I get that. Its just stunning to me. Its like a message to money
laundriers, just keep a low profile and carry on. Midwin, apparently, hes watching our show and he tweeted Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to two counts of Campaign Finance violations that are not a crime. President obama had a big Campaign Violation and it was easily settled. Okay. Tell me what hes talking about and are we Holding Trump to a different standard . I dont know what hes talking about, but you know what, we are Holding Trump to a different standard. There are a whole bunch of things that hes done since his candidacy, than barack obama. He was a tan suit, three wives, porn stars. 20 some women accusing him of Sexual Assault. The Access Hollywood tape. The list goes on and on. Yes, we are Holding Trump to a
different standard and i think the country is going to be hurting for a long time as a result. Not only are we holding him to a different standard, we also have a congress that has refused to hold him accountable that has abdicated their responsibility in all of the things hes done thus far. Glenn, looking at all of the indictments, does it look like a case thats starting to wrap up or a case thats growing, i cant tell . So, you did a good runup and highlighted everybody. Who has been convicted. Whos left . Whos left . Roger stone, don junior and the president himself. I do think its wrapping up. I think, you know, do we hold the president to a different standard . Maybe. But what i can say, bob mueller is going to hold him to bun standard. And its the rule of law. And i have to believe that bob mueller will try to avail himself of the narrow pathway to indicting a sitting president. And if the evidence is there, i do think bob mueller will try to
return an indictment against the president. But only time will tell. Michael flynn, every time we say this name, i remember, when i interviewed him, pressed him about russia, and he scolded me like i was a little girl. I think he said shame on me. No, Michael Flynn, shame on you. Up next, it is not just the president s inner circle in legal trouble. Another endorser of President Trump indicted. Were going to tell you about those charges that republican congressman Duncan Hunter is now facing. With all of the news yesterday, you may have missed another bombshell out of drk. C. Duncan hunter and his beloved wife indicted for allegedly using more than 250,000 in Campaign Funds for their personal expenses, including trips to italy, School Tuition payments, and even theater tickets. Hunter was the second person in congress to officially endorse the president , right behind congressman Chris Collins who, of course, was charged earlier this month with insider trading. Think of this, a sitting member of congress was indicted yesterday, and it is 9 52. Were only getting to this headline now. Latest. Trips to italy. Reporter i almost feel left out, steph. There you go. More than 11,000 spent at costco. To me, this seems pretty play
te bla tetant. How are his colleagues on the hill handling this one . Reporter it was blatant and it had been talked about for quite some time. There were a lot of concerns that this investigation might find something that was worth indicting him for. Lo and behold, it did. He was going to his golf club. Maybe it is related to the campaign, so ill just expense those golf balls. Ill pay to send a relative of mine to a Pittsburgh Steelers game. This was a situation where he was treating his Campaign Bank accounts like his own. You know, there are instances where this goes on, and people dont notice simply because theyre not paying attention to what one member of congress was doing. This became so blatant and flagrant that its caught up to him. Weve noticed. What do his colleagues plan to do about it because he doesnt seem to want to go anywhere. Paul ryan stripped him of his Committee Assignments while this indictment is going through the courts. You have to remember, this is actually potentially a real race. This is not retawe talked ab Chris Collins, the president s first supporter, who decided not to stand for reelection. It is a solidly republican seat in the end. This is one of the more republican seats in california. Democrats have an uphill climb. They didnt get the first tier candidate in the primary. They did get a progressive, something of a rising star. Hes been endorsed by former president barack obama. He has a compelling personal immigrant story that hes been telling. Hes resonated a bit with the progressive grass jp roroots in party. There is hope he may be able to pull it out. And darrell isa, thinking he may not have survived his reelection, had been eyeing hunters seat. Too late for isa. So far, speaker ryan moved to strip the positions. Well see if there is further pressure here on capitol hill, steph. Campaign funds to go on a vacation to italy. Smells pretty swampy to me. Coming up, were keeping a close eye on the fierce kwafall from Paul Manaforts conviction and Michael Cohens guilty plea. Were watching for any sign of cohen here in new york city. Plus, the potential impact on his former boss really, President Trump. To stay successful in business, you have to navigate a lot of moving parts. On your business, we have expert advice from getting funding to getting eyecatching marketing. Each week, well focus on ideas to grow your business, bringing all the moving parts together. Join me weekend mornings at 7 30 on msnbc or connect with us on your devices. The line between work and life hasnt just blurred. Its gone. Thats why you need someone behind you. Not just a card. An entire support system. Whether visiting the airport lounge
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show. Theres always good news somewhere, and we think good news ruhles. This is great. Serena williams is back. This woman has inspired the world as a premier athlete. Now, shes just like us, inspiring the world as a new mama. I had a chance to catch up with the tennis champion days before the u. S. Open here in new york. We talked about her time away from competition last year, her triumphant return to the sport she had dominated for the last two decades. She said, this isnt a comeback. I never left. I was always there mentally. I was always watching and being a part of it. I never wanted to hang up my racket at that point. Im still trying to compete and win grand slams. Most of all, do it while i have a daughter. You want to feel inspired . This time last year, she was eight months pregnant. Today, she is getting ready for the u. S. Open where she is going to try to win her 24th Grand Slam singles title. If thats not good news, i dont know what is